67th murderer executed in U.S. in 2000
665th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
4th murderer executed in Missouri in 2000
45th murderer executed in Missouri since 1976

Since 1976

Date of Execution

State

Method

Murderer(Race/Sex/Age at Murder-Execution)

Date ofBirth

Victim(s)(Race/Sex/Age at Murder)

Date ofMurder

Method ofMurder

Relationshipto Murderer

Date ofSentence

665

09-13-00

MO

Lethal Injection

George Bernard Harris a/k/a "Baby"

B / M / 30 - 31

02-09-59

Stanley "Hank" Willoughby

B / M / ?

03-11-89

Handgun

Acquaintance

02-12-90

Summary:Harris won money playing craps and used it to buy 2 machine guns. After giving them to a friend, Michael Taylor, for safekeeping, he came back later demanding the firearms. Stanley "Hank" Willoughby had assisted Taylor in hiding the firearms, and Willoughby was aided by two children. When Willoughby told Harris that he did not know where the firearms were, the argument grew heated. Harris pulled a .41 revolver and shot Willoughby in the face. Harris was arrested 2 weeks later for an armed robbery in Columbia. In 1982, Harris was convicted of Robbery in the First Degree and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.

George Bernard "Baby" Harris hit a lucky streak on the morning of March 11, 1989. He won some money shooting craps. In fact, he won enough money that people noticed it and figured he had a little to spare. A man who needed money asked Harris to let him "pawn" two machine guns, an Uzi and a .45 caliber Thompson automatic machine gun. Harris agreed, gave the man $500 in return for the machine guns and took them to the trunk of his car.

Harris walked back toward the crap game, worried that someone would steal the guns from his car. When he saw Michael Taylor, he asked Taylor if he would keep the machine guns for him. When Taylor agreed, Harris followed Taylor to Taylor’s house with Rodney Butler, Ross Talliferro and Stanley "Hank" Willoughby. When Harris arrived, Taylor asked Willoughby to come down to Harris’ car. Harris spoke to Willoughby, removed a box containing the machine guns from the trunk and handed it to Willoughby. Willoughby walked toward the house with the weapons. Rodney Butler, who was sitting on the porch, asked Willoughby not to bring the guns in the house. Willoughby handed the box containing the machine guns to Cortez and Anthony Taylor, Michael Taylor’s younger brothers. Willoughby told the boys to hide the guns somewhere near the house. Harris left. Cortez and Anthony took the box from Willoughby and hid it under some bushes in the backyard. The young Taylors left without telling Willoughby where they hid the guns.

At about 8:00 p.m., Harris returned looking for Michael Taylor. Butler answered the door and indicated that Taylor was upstairs sleeping. Harris went upstairs and told Taylor he had come to pick up the guns. When Taylor told him that he did not know where the guns were, Harris insisted that he needed them right away. At some point during the day Harris had suffered the grave injustice of being called a "punk" and told Taylor that he was going to do a "drive-by" shooting to show "them" that he was not a punk. Taylor told Harris to ask Willoughby about the machine guns when Willoughby returned from "picking up some girls."
Harris went downstairs. Taylor stayed in bed. Some time later, Harris yelled for Michael Taylor to come downstairs. When Taylor came down, he found Harris and several other people downstairs including Willoughby, Ross Tilliferro, Delmar Hatcher, Deonna Jacobs, and "Ingrid" and Jarlath Potts.

Harris asked Taylor for his guns. Taylor again told Harris to ask Willoughby. Willoughby explained that he did not know where the guns were because Anthony and Cortez Taylor had hidden them. Harris insisted that he wanted his guns and that he wanted them now. Willoughby went outside to look for the guns. Harris was heard to say, "I’m going to kill that nigger." Talliferro, Hatcher, and the two girls went upstairs. Five minutes later, Willoughby returned without the guns. Butler left to look for them.

At this point, there were only three people remaining on the living room area: Michael Taylor, George Harris, and Hank Willoughby. Willoughby told Harris that if he wanted his guns, he would have to wait until Anthony and Cortex came back. Harris insisted on getting his guns right away. Willoughby said, "Well, I can’t help you." Harris got up from the chair and pulled a .41 caliber Rugar Blackhawk magnum revolver from his waistband, and shot the victim in the lower face and neck. The bullet passed through Willoughby’s carotid artery. Willoughby staggered next door to Michael Taylor’s house and collapsed on the steps. A few minutes later, the police and ambulance were called. Meanwhile, Butler returned with the guns and placed them on the porch and ran inside.

Harris took the guns and drove away, ultimately making his way to Sabrina Lowe’s apartment. From there, Harris and Lowe went to the Champagne Lounge looking for a man named "Rudi". Harris told Lowe he intended to kill Rudi and had bought the machine guns for that purpose.
Willoughby died before he reached the hospital.
Law enforcement arrested Harris in Columbia, Missouri on March 15, 1989, after Harris and others had committed on armed robbery there.

George Harris was born on February 9, 1959 in Newport, Arkansas.
On February 26, 1976 Harris was arrested in Kansas City, Missouri for Robbery First Degree. In September, 1976, Harris was sentenced to eight years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
On March 19, 1982, Harris was arrested in Columbia, Missouri, for a Murder First Degree charge from the incident that occurred on March 11, 1989 in Kansas City, Missouri. On February 12, 1990, Harris was convicted of Murder First Degree and sentenced to death.
On April 26, 1989, Harris was arrested in Columbia, Missouri, for Robbery First Degree and Armed Criminal Action. On October 2, 1989, Harris was sentenced to twelve and three year concurrent sentences in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

1989
3/11--George Harris murders Stanly "Hank" Willoughby in Kansas City, Missouri
3/22--Harris was indicted on one count of Murder First Degree and one count of Armed Criminal Action in the Jackson County Circuit Court.

1990
2/5 --Harris' trial begins in the Jackson County Circuit Court
2/10--The jury finds Harris guilty of Murder First Degree
2/12--The jury returned a sentence of death for the murder of Stanley Willoughby.
7/30--Harris is sentenced to death by the circuit court judge.
12/5--Harris files a motion for postconviction relief.

1994
10/17--The United State Supreme Court affirmed Harris' judgement of conviction and sentence and affirmed the denial of Harris' postconviciton relief motion.
10/28--Harris filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United State District court for the Western District of Missouri.

1996
11/11--The United State District court denied Harris' petition for federal habeas relief.

1999
7/13--The United States District Court denied Harris' petition for federal habeas relief.
8/31--The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied Harris' motion for rehearing and suggestions for en banc review.

2000
1/10--The United States Supreme Court declined to review Harris' habeas petition.
2/14--The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denies motion to recall the mandate.
3/23--The United States District Court denies Harris' motion for relief from judgement.
5/9--The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denies motion for rehearing or en banc.
8/14--The Missouri State Supreme Court issues order and warrant of execution setting September 13, 2000, as Harris' execution date.

George Bernard "Baby" Harris won some money shooting craps on the morning of March 11, 1989. A man who needed money asked Harris to let him "pawn" two machine guns, an Uzi and a .45 caliber Thompson automatic machine gun. Harris agreed, gave the man $500 in return for the machine guns and took them to the trunk of his car. Harris walked back toward the crap game, worried that someone would steal the guns from his car. He asked a friend, Michael Taylor, if he would keep the machine guns for him. When Taylor agreed, Harris followed Taylor to Taylor's house with several other men, including Stanley "Hank" Willoughby.

When Harris arrived, Taylor asked Willoughby to come down to Harris' car. Harris spoke to Willoughby, removed a box containing the machine guns from the trunk and handed it to Willoughby. Willoughby walked toward the house with the weapons. Another man, who was sitting on the porch, asked Willoughby not to bring the guns in the house. Willoughby handed the box containing the machine guns to Michael Taylor's younger brothers. Willoughby told the boys to hide the guns somewhere near the house. Harris left. The boys took the box from Willoughby and hid it under some bushes in the backyard. The young Taylors left without telling Willoughby where they hid the guns.

At about 8:00 p.m., Harris returned looking for Michael Taylor. Someone else answered the door and indicated that Taylor was upstairs sleeping. Harris went upstairs and told Taylor he had come to pick up the guns. When Taylor told him that he did not know where the guns were, Harris insisted that he needed them right away. At some point during the day Harris had been called a "punk" and told Taylor that he was going to do a "drive-by" shooting to show "them" that he was not a punk. Taylor told Harris to ask Willoughby about the machine guns when Willoughby returned from "picking up some girls." Harris went downstairs. Taylor stayed in bed. Some time later, Harris yelled for Michael Taylor to come downstairs. When Taylor came down, he found Harris, Willoughby and several other people downstairs. Harris asked Taylor for his guns. Taylor again told Harris to ask Willoughby. Willoughby explained that he did not know where the guns were because Taylor's brothers had hidden them. Harris insisted that he wanted his guns and that he wanted them now. Willoughby went outside to look for the guns. Harris was heard to say, "I'm going to kill that nigger."

Four of the other people in the house went upstairs. Five minutes later, Willoughby returned without the guns and another man left to look for them. At this point, Michael Taylor, Hank Willoughby and another man were the only three people remaining on the living room area. Willoughby told Harris that if he wanted his guns, he would have to wait until the brothers came back. Harris insisted on getting his guns right away. Willoughby said, "Well, I can't help you." Harris got up from the chair and pulled a .41 caliber Rugar Blackhawk magnum revolver from his waistband, and shot the victim in the lower face and neck. The bullet passed through Willoughby's carotid artery. Willoughby staggered next door to Michael Taylor's house and collapsed on the steps. A few minutes later, the police and ambulance were called. Meanwhile, the other man who had gone out to look for them returned with the guns and placed them on the porch and ran inside. Harris took the guns and drove away, ultimately making his way to a female friend's apartment.

From there, Harris and his friend went to the Champagne Lounge looking for a man named "Rudi". Harris told her he intended to kill Rudi and had bought the machine guns for that purpose. Willoughby died before he reached the hospital. Law enforcement arrested Harris in Columbia, Missouri on March 15, 1989, after Harris and others had committed an armed robbery there.

WHEN: 9/13/2000, 12:01 am (protest events Tues. 9/12)
After giving some guns to a friend, Michael Taylor, to hold on March 11,
1989, Harris asked for them back to avenge an insult only to learn that
Taylor had given them to Stanley "Hank" Willoughby to hide, who had given
them to two children, who were away. As the argument grew heated, Harris
pulled out a revolver and shot Willoughby, who died before reaching the
hospital.

Issues:
(1) Lack of premeditation, a requirement for capital punishment. Harris
had no record of violent crime although he did have a record of property
crimes. Although he had expressed intent to kill the person who had
insulted him, in fact he didn't. Therefore the charge should have been
less, without a death penalty. In fact Harris claims that he feared
Willoughby was threatening him.
(2) Inadequate counsel: defense counsel should have produced the witnesses
who could have corroborated Harris' fear that Willoughby was threatening
him and that he fired only one shot.
(3) In an election year, clemency is less likely than in other years.

Harris's conviction arose from the shooting of Stanley Willoughby in the living room of a drug house owned by Michael Taylor in Kansas City. The shooting took place on the evening of March 11, 1989, during an argument between Harris and Willoughby regarding Willoughby's failure to return a pair of guns owned by Harris. Harris, testifying on his own behalf at trial, explained that during the course of the argument Willoughby appeared to reach for his gun. In reaction, Harris jumped up from his chair, moved sideways, and fired one shot in an effort to stop Willoughby. No other shots were fired.

Michael Taylor, who acknowledged that Willoughby had been his best friend, was the only eyewitness besides Harris who testified at Harris's trial. Taylor, who was also a drug dealer, told a different version of events, namely that the shooting was unprovoked and sudden. Although the police report identified several possible eyewitnesses to the shooting, only Harris and Taylor appeared at trial. Ben Brown, who was in the house that evening and witnessed the shooting, was not contacted by Harris's trial counsel and did not testify at his trial. Had he been called, Brown would have stated that Willoughby was the aggressor in the dispute and appeared to be reaching for a gun when Harris jumped up and shot him.

After hearing eyewitness testimony only from George Harris and Michael Taylor, the jury found Harris guilty of first degree murder and sentenced him to death. His appeals to the Missouri Supreme Court and his habeas corpus petitions to the federal courts with appropriate jurisdiction have been unavailing. See State v. Harris, 870 S.W.2d 798 (Mo. 1994); Harris v. Bowersox, 184 F.3d 744 (8th Cir. 1999). Mr. Harris has exhausted all legal remedies available to him. Therefore, for the following reasons, executive clemency is warranted.

GEORGE HARRIS'S ACTIONS DO NOT WARRANT A FIRST DEGREE MURDER CHARGE, AND LIKELY WARRANT NO MURDER CHARGE AT ALL

First degree murder, with the possibility of a death sentence, is an unusual, statutorily created category of homicide allowing the most severe punishment for extremely heinous crimes. The essential element of first degree murder is cool, unimpassioned premeditation, sometimes called "malice aforethought." In Harris's case, even assuming all the state's evidence against him to be true, Harris shot Willoughby suddenly during a quarrel. This inescapable fact compels the conclusion that Harris was not acting with cool premeditation.

Under Missouri law, a person commits first degree murder when he "knowingly causes the death of another person after deliberation upon the matter." Mo. Rev. Stat. § 565.020(1) (1994). The Missouri Supreme Court describes the deliberation necessary for a first degree murder charge as a "cool and deliberate state of mind." State v. Simmons, 955 S.W.2d 729 (Mo. 1997). The element of deliberation is what separates first degree murder and second degree murder; only first degree murder requires unimpassioned premeditation that the law calls deliberation. See State v. Rousan, 961 S.W.2d 831 (Mo. 1998).

George Harris shot Stanley Willoughby in the living room of a crack house during an argument. Willoughby was the "doorman" at this crack house, and was well known as a tough, violent character. Ex. A at 1. Kendra Remmer, Willoughby's girlfriend and mother of three of his children, stated in an affidavit that he almost always carried his 9mm Beretta with him and that he was well known as a tough and violent fighter. Ex. B at 1. The prosecution presented no evidence that Harris, prior to the evening in question, had ever met Willoughby, much less that he had any reason to want to kill him.

Harris had left two guns for safekeeping at the home of Michael Taylor. When he went to Taylor's house that evening to retrieve his property, Willoughby was at his post; when he could not produce the property, an argument ensued. The argument apparently lasted several minutes, and got quite heated, with raised voices and threatening gestures. See State v. Harris, 870 S.W.2d 798, 804 (describing the facts of the case); Ex. A at 2. The record contains inconsistent statements about the exact number of witnesses, but it is clear that several bystanders were present in the downstairs area of Taylor's house. It was in the downstairs living room of this drug house, and during the heated argument, that Willoughby appeared to reach for his waist, where he was known to keep his gun, and
Harris fired a single shot that proved fatal. Ex. A, Affidavit of Ben Brown, at 1-3; Ex. C, Trial Transcript at 873-76.

That Harris shot and killed Stanley Willoughby is not in dispute; but his state of mind when he did so presents the crucial distinction between a lawful first degree murder charge and a mere second degree murder case. The evidence showed that Harris shot Willoughby in the midst of an argument. This obviously fails the test of a killing that follows cool, unimpassioned deliberation upon the matter. The death sentence imposed on Harris for his actions that evening is grossly disproportionate to his crime, and to carry it out would result in a miscarriage of justice.

Furthermore, there is substantial evidence that Harris acted in self defense. The issue of self defense is normally a question decided by the trier of fact. In this case, the jury essentially had to choose between Michael Taylor's version of the events and Harris's, since neither side presented corroborating evidence or testimony. The crucial evidence to corroborate Harris's testimony was available through the disinterested witness Ben Brown. Harris's trial counsel did not even contact Mr. Brown, however, and as a result, the jury never heard his evidence that Harris acted in self defense. Upon being contacted by current counsel assigned to the case after the trial, Brown stated that he saw the shooting and that Willoughby appeared to be reaching for his gun when Mr. Harris shot him. Thus, given this fresh information that has come to light, granting executive clemency would not overrule any decisions made by the jury, but would simply take into account compelling information that the jury never heard.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday set a Sept. 13 execution date for a Kansas City man convicted of murder.
George Bernard Harris, 41, was convicted for the 1989 slaying of Stanley Willoughby.
Willoughby was killed in Kansas City after he failed to produce machine guns given to him by Harris for safekeeping.
Harris was arrested four days after the shooting, following the armed robbery of a Columbia grocery store.

During his trial Harris admitted killing Willoughby but said it was in self-defense during an argument in a drug house.
"I was afraid for my life," he testified.
At the time, Harris had gained a reputation as one of the most prolific robbers in recent Kansas City history. He had five felony convictions but had beaten at least four armed-robbery charges.
Authorities called him the "top of his field." Defense attorneys said the previous convictions influenced the jury to find him guilty.

Harris, who is scheduled to be executed at the Potosi Correctional Center, was convicted in Jackson County on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Harris' execution would be the first one involving a Jackson County case since Roy Ramsey Jr. was put to death on April 14, 1999. Ramsey was convicted of slaying Garrett and Betty Ledford in their Grandview home.